North Korea fires 4 banned missiles into seaSEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea on Monday fired four banned ballistic missiles that flew about 620 miles on average, with three of them landing in waters that Japan claims as its exclusive economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials said. The test-launches appeared to be a reaction to huge U.S.-South Korean military drills that those countries consider routine but that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal. It was not immediatel...

High school in Silicon Valley makes $24M from Snap IPOMOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Bake sales and car washes? Not for one Silicon Valley parochial high school that hit it big this week and, by doing so, highlighted anew gaping economic disparities in the region. St. Francis High School in Mountain View parlayed a $15,000 investment into a windfall of at least $24 million, capitalizing on a unique venture capital fund set up by the school's investment-savvy parents. The fund paid off when the company ...

Art of the parse: How politicians talk their way out of jamsWASHINGTON — In Washington, it's the art of the parse. Everyone splits rhetorical hairs from time to time, but politicians are especially adept at trying to dance their way out of a bind with carefully crafted explanations. Now, here comes Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who met with the Russian ambassador twice last year, maintaining that he was truthful when he told a Senate committee during his January confirmation hearing that he "did not ...

At least 3 dead after tornadoes touch down in central USLITTLE ROCK — Tornadoes touched down in the upper Midwest and northern Arkansas, killing at least three people as the spring-like storm system rumbled eastward on Wednesday. Compact but strong storms known as supercells raked parts of the central U.S. on Tuesday and Wednesday, causing damage from Arkansas, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Meanwhile, wind-whipped wildfires destroyed homes in Texas. At Ottawa, Illinois, sta...

Trump gives GOP leaders rallying cry, roadmap for changeWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump gave Republican congressional leaders a rallying cry and even a roadmap as they try to push through a sweeping and divisive agenda on health care, taxes and more. In his first address to a joint session of Congress, Trump said largely what GOP leaders were hoping to hear Tuesday night, staying on-message and talking in optimistic tones, even weighing in at one point to settle a brewing dispute over how to re...

AP FACT CHECK: Trump takes credit he hasn't earnedWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump boasted Tuesday night about corporate job expansion and military cost-savings that actually took root under his predecessor and gave a one-sided account of the costs and benefits to the economy from immigration — ignoring the upside. A look at some of his claims in his prime-time speech to Congress: TRUMP: "According to the National Academy of Sciences, our current immigration system costs America's taxpayer...

What to watch for when Trump makes 1st address to CongressWASHINGTON — A presidential address to Congress is always part policy speech, part political theater. With President Donald Trump, a former reality TV star, there's extra potential for drama as he makes his first address to Congress. After a chaotic start to his presidency, Trump will be trying to project his administration as ready to stride forward on top priorities such as changes to President Barack Obama's health care law and a tax overha...

AP sources: White House to propose boosting defense spendingWASHINGTON — The White House will propose boosting defense spending and slashing funding for longtime Republican targets like the Environmental Protection Agency in a set of marching orders to agencies as it prepares its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. President Donald Trump's proposal for the 2018 budget year, which will be sent to agencies Monday, won't make significant changes to Social Security or Medicare, according to an administrat...

Pentagon presenting counter-IS plan to White HouseWASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is presenting the White House with a plan to "rapidly defeat" the Islamic State group, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday. The strategy includes significant elements of the approach President Donald Trump inherited, while potentially deepening U.S. military involvement in Syria. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said Mattis provided the results of his 30-day strategy review ahead of a Monday afternoon Cabinet-level ...

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By ROBERT BURNS and LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated PressAssociated Press

AP-NORC Poll: US teens disillusioned, divided by politicsPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — In the days after President Donald Trump's election, thousands of teenagers across the nation walked out of class in protest. Others rallied to his defense. It was an unusual show of political engagement from future voters who may alter America's political landscape in 2020 — or even in next year's midterm elections. Now, a new survey of children ages 13 to 17 conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affai...

AP: VA data show low rate of discipline for drug loss, theftWASHINGTON — Doctors, nurses or pharmacy staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs' hospitals were fired or reprimanded in only a small fraction of thousands of reported cases of opioid theft and missing prescriptions since 2010, according to government data obtained by The Associated Press. About 372 VA employees were disciplined for a drug or alcohol-related issue across a network of 160 medical centers and 1,000 clinics over the last six ...

Doctors warn against teen pot use amid looser marijuana lawsCHICAGO — An influential doctors group is beefing up warnings about marijuana's potential harms for teens amid increasingly lax laws and attitudes on pot use. Many parents use the drug and think it's OK for their kids, but "we would rather not mess around with the developing brain," said Dr. Seth Ammerman. The advice comes in a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, published Monday in Pediatrics. The group opposes medical and rec...

AP Exclusive: DHS report disputes threat from banned nationsWASHINGTON — Analysts at the Homeland Security Department's intelligence arm found insufficient evidence that citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries included in President Donald Trump's travel ban pose a terror threat to the United States. A draft document obtained by The Associated Press concludes that citizenship is an "unlikely indicator" of terrorism threats to the United States and that few people from the countries Trump listed in h...

Pre-existing conditions complicate health care replacementCHICAGO — As Republicans try to unite around a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, one of the most popular parts of the law will be among the most difficult to replace: the guarantee of health coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. The challenge of providing insurance for Americans who have no other alternative has some congressional Republicans considering whether to ask the states to reboot high-risk pools, an option with a r...

'Apollo 13' and 'Titanic' actor Bill Paxton dies at 61LOS ANGELES — Bill Paxton, a prolific and charismatic actor who had memorable roles in such blockbusters as "Apollo 13" and "Titanic" while also cherishing his work in "One False Move" and other low-budget movies and in the HBO series "Big Love," has died from complications due to surgery. He was 61. A family representative issued a statement Sunday on the death but provided no further details. Paxton's death added a sad note to Sunday night's...

Oscars flap eclipses 'Moonlight' win, but civility reignsLOS ANGELES— The 89th Academy Awards got off on the right foot, with a song and dance, but ended with the most stunning mistake ever to befall the esteemed awards show when the best picture Oscar was presented to the wrong movie. Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, holding an incorrect envelope, wrongly presented the top prize to "La La Land" instead of "Moonlight." The moment at the conclusion of the Sunday-night show was so jaw-dropping, it ecli...

Atkins Junior Beta set for FloridaATKINS — For the first time, the Atkins Junior Beta Quiz Bowl team went to state and took home third which qualifies them to go to Junior Beta Nationals in Orlando, Fla. in June. The state competition was conducted Jan. 26 in Hot Springs where Julie Hodges, sixth-grade math teacher and Junior Beta Club sponsor, said it came down to a tiebreaker for the quiz bowl team division. “This was the first time they went to state so we were excited when...

Biologists find weird cave life that may be 50,000 years oldBOSTON — In a Mexican cave system so beautiful and hot that it is called both Fairyland and hell, scientists have discovered life trapped in crystals that could be 50,000 years old. The bizarre and ancient microbes were found dormant in caves in Naica, Mexico, and were able to exist by living on minerals such as iron and manganese, said Penelope Boston, head of NASA's Astrobiology Institute. . "It's super life," said Boston, who presented the ...

Doctor-lawmaker tries to restrict smoking in tobacco countryFRANKFORT, Ky. — When Dr. Ralph Alvarado was elected to the Kentucky state Senate in 2014, he found his new colleagues had something in common with most of his patients: They knew smoking was bad, they just couldn't quit. For more than two years, Alvarado has led the effort to restrict smoking in a state with the highest smoking rate in the country. He keeps a white lab coat in his Senate office, giving him a little more authority with lawmake...

Trump's plan for spike in defense spending faces big hurdlesWASHINGTON — Republicans control Congress so President Donald Trump's pledge to boost the Pentagon budget by tens of billions of dollars should be a sure bet. It's not. Trump faces skeptical Democrats whose support he'll need and resistance from fiscal conservatives opposed to repealing a 2011 law that set firm limits on military and domestic spending. Unless the president figures out a way to mollify the disparate camps, he'll have a tough ti...